1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to packaging, and in particular to clear packaging which enables a packaged product to appear to be floating inside the packaging so as to present the packaged item in an appealing and visible form, without requiring the use of additional fastening items such as tape or other fasteners.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been a desire to produce packaging for items which present the items in an apparently floating arrangement in the package, thereby rendering the item observable from many directions to potential customers. There have been such packages produced from transparent plastic materials, but they have heretofore suffered various disadvantages. In some cases, particularly with packages having flexible walls and/or covers, the use of adhesive tape or other fastening means are required to hold the components of the packaging in place. This could include both the portion which envelops the product in the package as well as the top and/or bottom of the package. In other instances, the packaging requires rigid, generally inflexible and relatively costly plastic, often has relatively complex latching means and can require excess manual labor in order to install the item being packaged, such as watches, clocks and other items having cosmetic appeal.
An object of the present invention is to provide packaging which firmly and securely holds its contents in place, but does not require an additional fastening means, other than the base, top and side or body portion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide improved packaging for displaying packaged products in an apparently floating relationship, which does not require tape or other fastening means for securing the package components together.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide packaging which can be closed in a secure manner yet which can be opened without difficulty when required.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide plastic packaging for displaying items in an apparently floating relationship with the package, which items can be packaged in a fast and efficient manner, and which package can be quickly and firmly closed.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide an attractive plastic package which displays its contents in an appealing fashion and which can be opened and closed manually without the use of adhesive tape or other closing means.
These and other objects will be apparent from the description to follow.
The foregoing and other objects are achieved according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. According to the preferred embodiment, a package is provided having a hollow body portion or sleeve composed of flexible, preferably transparent plastic having geometric orifices near the top and bottom portion of the sleeve. The base and top of the packaging include rigid plastic caps having at least one opposing curved surface with depending collars having geometric protrusions configured and spaced to project through the orifices in the sleeve. When the end caps are installed in the sleeve, the depending collar slides on the inside surfaces of the sleeve to force the sleeve to obtain the same curvature as has the collar. The end caps are slid into the body portion until the protrusions enter and extend from the foregoing orifices. The engagement of the protrusion through the orifices holds the lids in place, and the tension caused by the bowing of the body portion to assume the curve of the top and base firmly holds the cover in place. In order to open the package, one simply presses on the curved body portion of the sleeve to cause the surfaces having the orifices to bend back from the cover to release the protrusions and allow the base or cover (i.e. one of the caps) to be expelled from the body portion. The sleeve can hold a plastic envelope or other carrier (i.e. a support or other support) for holding the item to be included in the package. The support can be a transparent sheet of plastic, like that of which the body portion is made, having an indentation in which the item is pressed and held in place. It is the support and the sleeve which makes the item appear as if it is floating in the package. The support can easily be held in the package, such as by having its length being equal to the distance the end caps are separated from each other. The walls of the sleeve should be sufficiently strong to prevent a bending of the walls to an extent to damage the item in the package or to allow the package to move downwardly near the bottom of the package. The support could have an indentation for the item as noted above, it could be a xe2x80x9cbubblexe2x80x9d for holding the item, or any other appropriate means depending on the item to be carried.